July 7 news

Published by jwettschreck on Monday, July 7th, 2014

WORTHINGTON – The non-essential water use ban will stay in place for the time being, according to Worthington Public Utilities Manager Scott Hain.

Although water continues to flow over the dams at local lakes, it hasn’t made a significant impact on the Bella Wellfield, where water levels are measured each week. Currently, the level at Well 26, used to determine a static well level, is just inches above the 16 year average, even after the heavy June rains.

WORTHINGTON - Water main work on Omaha Avenue from Dover Street to Miller Street is scheduled to begin today. Omaha Avenue will be closed to through traffic. When possible, Omaha Avenue will be open to restricted local traffic for driveway access. Access will alternate from the Dover Street or Miller Street ends of Omaha Avenue as construction progresses from Dover Street toward Miller Street.

Weather permitting and construction proceeding as planned, Omaha Avenue pipe and pavement work should be completed and normal traffic restored in late August.

WORTHINGTON — The 4-way stop at County State Aid Highways 5 and 35 put in place for construction purposes has been put back to its original traffic configuration as of Thursday, according to Nobles County and the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

The north-south CSAH 5 traffic will continue to stop, and east-west CSAH 35 will be allowed to travel through the intersection without stopping. Message boards are now in place on CSAH 5 warning travelers of the upcoming change.

ROCK RAPIDS, Iowa - A George man wanted on warrants out of Lyon and Dickinson Counties was arrested Thursday at his residence. Authorities say 31-year-old Joseph Kruger was wanted on a Lyon County warrant for a parole violation and out of Dickinson County for interference with official acts and eluding.

Kruger was booked into the Lyon County Jail and was being held without bond.

ROCK RAPIDS, Iowa — A Rock Rapids man has turned himself in and at last report was being held in the Lyon County Jail. The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office reports that 21-year-old Michael Leonard Doiel of Rock Rapids turned himself in on Thursday, July 3rd.

An arrest warrant had been issued charging Doiel with Contempt of Court for a violation of a court order that happened on June 26th, 2014. Doiel’s bond was set at $5,000.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - The West Nile virus has been found in Minnesota for the first time this year.

According to the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District, mosquitoes collected last week in Scott County tested positive for the virus.

There have been no confirmed cases of residents getting sick with the illness this summer, and dead birds tested by the district also have turned up negative.

The first signs of West Nile virus last year were found at this time, in a mosquito sample collected in Carver County. By late August, 21 cases had been confirmed and one victim had died.

The virus is most common in agriculture areas in western and central Minnesota, but cases are possible anywhere. The virus first arrived in Minnesota about 12 years ago.

MINNESOTA - Four people were killed in a trio of accidents over the weekend. Two of those accidents are described as fatal rollovers; the other involved a State Patrol squad car and left two people dead.

On Friday, a state trooper was responding to a collision between a motorcycle and a deer when the trooper T-boned a vehicle that pulled out in front of his squad car as he drove through Cannon Falls, the State Patrol said.

The two people in the car were killed and the trooper, identified as Scott Reps, was airlifted to Mayo Hospital with “serious but not life-threatening injuries.”

The two victims – the driver and passenger of the vehicle that pulled in front of the squad car – have been identified as Norman L. Scott, 78, and his wife, Geneva M. Scott, 79, both from Cannon Falls. The squad car had its lights and sirens on when it hit Scotts’ vehicle.

According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety, the Fourth of July holiday has traditionally been one of the deadliest on Minnesota roads and highways. Fifty-nine deaths were reported in the past 10 years over the holiday, with 34 of those fatalities attributed to alcohol-related crashes.

ALBANY, N.Y. — Paul McCartney returned to a concert stage Saturday after being sidelined for two months because of a virus, spinning out songs from the Beatles, Wings and a solo career that has spanned more than 50 years of rock 'n' roll.

McCartney, who turned 72 two weeks ago, said it was great to be back. He looked none the worse for wear, putting on a show of just under three hours with 38 songs before finishing with the three-song medley that ends the "Abbey Road" album.

He was briefly hospitalized in Tokyo in May because of the viral infection. The illness forced him to cancel a Japanese tour and a concert in South Korea and reschedule half a dozen June dates in the United States before resuming his "Out There" tour in Albany. He has an Aug. 2 concert scheduled in Minneapolis at Target Field.